Kate Chopin

The Awakening, originally titled A Solitary Soul, is a novel by Kate Chopin, first published in 1899. Set in New Orleans and on the Louisiana Gulf coast at the end of the 19th century, the plot centers on Edna Pontellier and her struggle between her increasingly unorthodox views on femininity and motherhood with the prevailing social attitudes of the turn-of-the-century American South.

The Awakening

This Elibron Classics title is a reprint of the original edition.

Clark Louis

There are some people who leave impressions not so lasting as the imprint of an oar upon the water.

Edna began to feel like one who awakens gradually out of a dream, a delicious, grotesque, impossible dream, to feel again the realities pressing into her soul.

Evan

...when I left her today, she put her arms around me and felt my shoulder blades, to see if my wings were strong, she said. 'The bird that would soar above the level plain of tradition and prejudice must have strong wings. It is a sad spectacle to see the weaklings bruised, exhausted, fluttering back to earth.'

clara

Yes, she said. "The years that are gone seem like dreams -if one might go on sleeping and dreaming-but to wake up and find-oh! well perhaps it is better to wake up after all, even to suffer, rather than to remain a dupe to illusions all one's life." 

"One of these days," she said, I’m  going to pull myself together for a while and think-try to determine what character of a woman I am, for, candidly, I don't know. By all the codes which I am acquainted with, I am a devilishly wicked specimen of the sex. But some way I can't convince myself that I am. I must think about it.» 

It was not despair, but it seemed to her as if life were passing by, leaving its promise broken and unfulfilled. Yet there were other days when she listened, was led on and deceived by fresh promises which her youth held out to her.

Edna had once told Madame Ratignolle that she would never sacrifice herself for her children, or for any one. Then had followed a rather heated argument; the two women did not appear to understand each other or to be talking the same language. Edna tried to appease her friend, to explain. “I would give up the unessential; I would give my money, I would give my life for my children; but I wouldn't give myself. I can’t make it more clear, it’s only something which I am beginning to comprehend, which is revealing itself to me.”

The past was nothing to her; offered no lesson which she was willing to heed. The future was a mystery which she never attempted to penetrate. The present alone was significant, was hers, to torture her as it was doing then with the biting which her impassioned, newly awakened being demanded.

"You don't know anything about it. Why should you know? I never was so exhausted in my life. But it isn't unpleasant. A thousand emotions have swept through me to-night. I don't comprehend half of them. Don't mind what I'm saying; I am just thinking aloud. I wonder if I shall ever be stirred again as Mademoiselle Reisz's playing moved me tonight. I wonder if any night on earth will ever again be like this one. It is like a night in a dream. The people about me are like some uncanny, half-human beings. There must be spirits abroad tonight."

“I have used the Norton Critical Editions since graduate school. As a teacher of high-school literature, I find them to be excellent resources for the study of various novels, plays, etc."—Brooke Gifford, Vincent Middle High School This Norton Critical Edition includes: • The annotated text of Kate Chopin’s modernist novel of marital infidelity, set in New Orleans and Grande Isle, Louisiana. • A preface, a critical essay, and explanatory annotations by Margo Culley. • Essays by acclaimed Chopin biographers Per Seyersted and Emily Toth, “An Etiquette/Advice Book Sampler” with selections from the conduct books of the period, and contemporary perspectives on womanhood, motherhood, and marriage. • Forty-five reviews and interpretive essays on The Awakening spanning three centuries. • A Chronology of Chopin’s life and work and an updated Selected Bibliography. About the Series Read by more than 12 million students over fifty-five years, Norton Critical Editions set the standard for apparatus that is right for undergraduate readers. The three-part format—annotated text, contexts, and criticism—helps students to better understand, analyze, and appreciate the literature, while opening a wide range of teaching possibilities for instructors. Whether in print or in digital format, Norton Critical Editions provide all the resources students need.

The Awakening (Third Edition) (Norton Critical Editions)

Julie <3

it’s hard to pick a favorite book, but if I had to, it would be this. It is a tragedy in the broadest sense of the word, but to me it feels like a self absorbed figure’s struggle towards true freedom which eventually manifests in her own impulsive demise. Reading it feels like a treat. Chopin’s writing is beautiful without (always) being overly complex.

Despite its short length, "The Awakening" was a total slog to get through for me. I think this tragic tale is one of important warning -- but there's no denying that Edna Pontellier's story bored me.

I think this was a cautionary tale: I won't read up on what others thought of it until after this review, but from what I gathered, Kate Chopin would tell you that Edna was a horribly confused, distraught woman. Not every book needs the lead to be a perfect role model, for sure; in fact, most books I love have shitty lead characters. Shitty people usually get a plot moving far faster than good ones. The "bad" characters do need to be entertaining in some way, though, and Edna lacks entertainment. She's an aimless, thoughtless character who has no real goals and gives into silly whims. She's a rebel without a cause who is always looking for someone else to fill a void she feels within. Edna is rarely a fan of effort and lacks tact.

She's frequently overcome with inopportune despondence and often lets it spread to others around her. Edna Pontellier is a self-centered, buzz-killing drag. Questioning things isn't bad, but being naive and child-like in your thought processes (another woman calls Edna out on this, thank god) is. Edna is often comically unlikable.

What's her struggle? What's "The Awakening"? Without spoiling anything, I'll say it's a hollow, foolish pursuit that a woman with a husband and children should know better than to believe fruitful. Because of said family, it's extremely inconsiderate; Edna actually goes out of her way to distance herself from her own pre-marriage family for no reason other than to be care-free for another moment. A mother who refuses to do something simply because she doesn't want to do it is wildly irresponsible. Edna chases the "highs", permanently burning whatever bridge she needs to get herself there, only to feel nothing and learn nothing from it, either. It's sad and it happens many times, the train wreck never being an entertaining one.

I think Kate Chopin's prose is frequently impressive and beautiful. I think, in the moment, she knew how to cut a conversation or interaction short while retaining its general message -- but as far as overarching story goes, I think this short novel still contains a lot of waste.

I like how Edna's husband was handled as a character. He seems like quite a prick to start, but we do learn more about him and how he handles difficulty in clever ways.

I like parts of "The Awakening", primarily its (seemingly) warning. Edna's actions did not lead to happiness and her "lifestyle choices" should be frowned upon. However, I never enjoyed myself reading it and I found myself getting easily distracted, rather doing 

Despite its short length, "The Awakening" was a total slog to get through for me. I think this tragic tale is one of important warning -- but there's no denying that Edna Pontellier's story bored me.

  

I think this was a cautionary tale: I won't read up on what others thought of it until after this review, but from what I gathered, Kate Chopin would tell you that Edna was a horribly confused, distraught woman. Not every book needs the lead to be a perfect role model, for sure; in fact, most books I love have shitty lead characters. Shitty people usually get a plot moving far faster than good ones. The "bad" characters do need to be entertaining in some way, though, and Edna lacks entertainment. She's an aimless, thoughtless character who has no real goals and gives into silly whims. She's a rebel without a cause who is always looking for someone else to fill a void she feels within. Edna is rarely a fan of effort and lacks tact.

She's frequently overcome with inopportune despondence and often lets it spread to others around her. Edna Pontellier is a self-centered, buzz-killing drag. Questioning things isn't bad, but being naive and child-like in your thought processes (another woman calls Edna out on this, thank god) is. Edna is often comically unlikable.

  

What's her struggle? What's "The Awakening"? Without spoiling anything, I'll say it's a hollow, foolish pursuit that a woman with a husband and children should know better than to believe fruitful. Because of said family, it's extremely inconsiderate; Edna actually goes out of her way to distance herself from her own pre-marriage family for no reason other than to be care-free for another moment. A mother who refuses to do something simply because she doesn't want to do it is wildly irresponsible. Edna chases the "highs", permanently burning whatever bridge she needs to get herself there, only to feel nothing and learn nothing from it, either. It's sad and it happens many times, the train wreck never being an entertaining one.

  

I think Kate Chopin's prose is frequently impressive and beautiful. I think, in the moment, she knew how to cut a conversation or interaction short while retaining its general message -- but as far as overarching story goes, I think this short novel still contains a lot of waste.

I like how Edna's husband was handled as a character. He seems like quite a prick to start, but we do learn more about him and how he handles difficulty in clever ways.

  

I like parts of "The Awakening", primarily its (seemingly) warning. Edna's actions did not lead to happiness and her "lifestyle choices" should be frowned upon. However, I never enjoyed myself reading it and I found myself getting easily distracted, rather doing anything other than finish the current page.

  

I do not recommend "The Awakening".

Kellie Davis

I must admit, I judged this book by it's cover. I'm not a huge fan of early American Lit, but I found myself loving this book. It's full of scandal, romance, and emotion that I'm not use to seeing in a school read. Really enjoyed this and recommend it to any Lit nerd.

Gorgeous writing. Story itself was fairly predictable/average, but the writing makes up for quite a lot of it. Very short and poignant

Emma Lechner

The Pontellier family are spending a hot, lazy holiday on the Gulf of Mexico. No-one expects that Edna Pontellier should be preoccupied with anything more than her husband and children. When an illicit summer romance awakens new ideas and longings in Edna, she can barely understand herself, and cannot hope for aid or acceptance in the stifling attitudes of Louisiana society.

Kate Chopin's compelling, candid portrait of a woman attempting to break free caused an outcry when first published in 1899.
--back cover

Ditipriya Acharya

Turn-of-the Century Feminism

 I would give up the unessential; I would give up my money, I would give up my life for my children; but I wouldn’t give myself. I can’t make it more clear; it’s only something which I am beginning to comprehend, which is revealing itself to me. 

Kate Chopin’s turn-of-the-century feminist novel, The Awakening, raised a lot of hackles when it was first published in 1899. Deemed scandalous because of the protagonist’s adultery and abandonment of her children, the book was not in circulation for several years. Reading Chopin’s masterwork in the 21st century left me with two thoughts; the themes discussed in the novel are much more digestible and almost tame today and yet they are not dated. The year has changed and so has the scenario but women somehow still face similar conflicts today in their married lives.

The Awakening is the story of the emotional and sexual awakening of Edna Pontellier, a young wife and mother of two boys. The novel starts with Leoncé Pontellier, her husband, reading a newspaper on a rocking chair as he waits for his wife to get back from her swim. The Pontellier family are vacationing in Grand Isle, a summer resort on the coast of Louisiana. While there, Edna finds herself on the receiving end of attention from a young man Robert Lebrun and that’s where the story picks up.

Before the vacation and her awakening, Edna led a resigned life. She was married to a man who was not cruel or abusive but wasn’t attentive or loving either. The only thing they had in common is the bed that they shared. Her life was expected to revolve around her young boys and the household. Everything had to be perfect, in order to maintain pretences in front of the Society, so that it didn’t affect her husband’s business. Edna didn’t know that she could get more out of her life, that she could be happy and loved. Until one night in Grand Isle she realises that the life she is leading is not the life she really wants.

Unlike what most people believe on first reading the book, Edna’s awakening does not come from her interactions or friendship with Robert, but instead from within. As the reality of her life sets in, she realises that she deserves more than a husband who calls her a bad mother over imagined illnesses. Her awakening comes from looking at the people around, solitude and exploring her own creativity. She not only awakens to her desires or sexuality but also to the idea that she is her own person, beyond being someone’s wife and someone’s mother. Chopin’s writing here comes into play through brilliant prose and metaphors. 

The book receives a lot of flak for portraying a woman who is selfish and ready to abandon her children for the sake of her own happiness. But isn’t Leoncé, with his occasional bonbons and gifts, equally to blame for ignoring his children? Why is it that woman are the only ones criticised for wanting their own identity? Chopin, through Edna, gives us a character memorable because of her flaws and realism. The personal narrative of the story forces us to forge a bond with the main character to the very end. From being regarded as property by her husband, to asserting to Robert that she wasn’t Leoncé's to give or his to take, Edna goes through an impactful transformation.

The novel also explores several personality types through a cast of side characters, each one of whom is unique and brings something to the table to make the reading experience more wholesome. Chopin’s writing grounds itself in reality, and what shocked me the most was how much I could relate to it more than 120 years later. The only contention I had with the book was that for a story that had me so gripped that I read it in one sitting, the ending was slightly underwhelming. Towards the beginning of the novel, Edna is learning how to swim, it is only at the end that I understood the importance of the repeated scenes of swimming and the joy she got from it. 

Kate Chopin’s The Awakening is an important piece of feminist literature that leaves you thinking about the true cost of freedom.

However, as any self-respecting reader would, I find it slightly difficult to forgive Robert for his spoiler tendencies. 
 He looked at Edna’s book, which he had read; and he told her the end, to save her the trouble of wading through it, he said.

When Edna Pontellier becomes enamored with Robert LeBrun while on vacation, the wife and mother realizes the full force of her desire for love and freedom, in a text that includes thirty-two additional short stories by the author.

And Other Stories

Demon

** spoiler alert **
           I dnf this book. I had to read the awakening for my English literature course but it was already enough for me. I don't want to go any further in this book. Maybe the other short stories are better but the awakening didn't give me the want to read more of Kate Chopin's work.
I didn't like the cheating plot. Edna wanted to be free but she wasn't free. She was captive of her own desire and feelings for Robert. Cheating didn't let her be more free. It's sad that the only way she had to be really free was to die.
it's a 2/5 for me.
please be aware of most of the tws before reading it!
tws: infidelity, cheating, death & death of a parent, suicide & suicidal thoughts, sexism, alcohol

 select lines hold a deeper truth than the entire work. 

weli 

The awakening

Amazing feminist literature not only for its time but for today as well. A classic, must read. 

Holly 

I enjoyed this a lot more than I thought I would. I found myself relating to Edna a good bit which was fun. I like that she's a flawed, not-shoved-down-your-throat feminist. I would rate 5 stars but the ending >:(. For the record, I think the ending has merit, I'm just slightly salty (view spoiler)[ like the ocean she dies in *cough*  (hide spoiler)]

jack

** spoiler alert **
           disclaimer: this was written by a high school student, stream-of-consciousness style. i am probably dumb. okay carry on

this book is sitting very weird with me right now. i really want to like it! i think edna has potential to be a very interesting character but we get almost no explanation for anything she does! for a book about a character’s social/emotional Awakening, i feel we are keyed in very little to edna’s emotional state.

but hey! maybe that’s the point! we don’t need an explanation for edna’s emotional state because women don’t owe an explanation for their actions! and that’s a respectable and important point to be making! it just makes it harder for me to enjoy i guess!

additionally, the ending just plain sucked in my opinion. chopin genuinely set up some interesting ideas and potentials for edna late in the book. the doctor, her new feelings/relationship with robert, and her new semi-awareness of her own role in life set up some things that would be super interesting to explore in an extended third act! but chopin seemingly shies away from this and writes, in my opinion, a lazy and easy way out of all these intricate problems edna faces.

once again, though, maybe this all plays into the point chopin is trying to make! suicide often is the quick way out, most things are left unresolved, and feelings are left unexplored. it just leaves me wanting more and not in a good way. edna, and the rest of this book, have genuine potential to be interesting but chopin wastes that potential in her own vagueness and lack of explanation.

my final thoughts on this are that i do respect this piece for being revolutionary at the time and for the points it brings up. i just wish someone with a different style than chopin had done it, as most of her choices beyond the general premise just annoy me.

Kara W

Thought provoking story about a woman discovering the both the loneliness and freedom that accompanies independence. Could have been more engaging storytelling if it were not for unnecessary events and details of Edna’s life.

Kimber Severance 

The idea of this book was to give an uncoated view of the strict lives of women in a patriartichal society (like Jane Austen times). But I didn't really find it firing my blood up with the injustices of the main character Edna's world, mainly because it was written in 3rd person, and because Edna was selfish and rather unlikable by the end of the short story. I wouldn't particularly suggest it, but it wasn't a bad read.

Nada Ghanim

“The water of the Gulf stretched out before her, gleaming with the million lights of the sun. The voice of the sea is seductive, never ceasing, whispering, clamoring, murmuring, inviting the soul to wander in abysses of solitude.”

Penelope

this book is just phenomenal and so good for those who love to look deeper in to find meanings.

I actually preferred Chopin's short stories to The Awakening, they were more surprising and punchy to me.

Francesca

Lila Barahona

Uno de los mejores clásicos! Hermosa escritura y una visión de su contexto y su perspectiva que nos educa de la evolución del papel de la mujer y la necesidad de un despertar a través del conocimiento de uno mismo. Me leí el libro super rápido y cada vez avanzaba con ganas de leer el siguiente capítulo. Me lo volvería a leer para volver a disfrutar y analizar los símbolos, palabras y actitudes.

Rochelle Ferguson

This was very rushed and I felt Scarlett's relationships with some of the guys were lost in the story. Daz and Xander were not mentioned for multiple pages and I forgot they even existed.

HarperCollins is proud to present its range of best-loved, essential classics.

Collins Classics - The Awakening

Ilse

This was an unexpected gem of a book that I’m really glad to have found! It’s a tragic story of a woman who feels oppressed in her loveless marriage, and the expectation of society on what a woman’s role at home should be. I really enjoyed reading Edna’s gradual awakening, all the way to the end, and really sympathised with her and felt for her. 

The writing style was fairly simple, as in that Chopin didn’t use any unnecessary flowery prose and just wrote straight from her heart. I really liked that, and as such, taking all of this together can really recommend it to other readers who might like to try their hand at a classic like this!

Witch

This classic novel is surprisingly still very timely in our modern age. While women do have more of a choice to live for themselves, there's still societal pressure to live for our spouses and children instead. Careerwomen are asked about the care of their children and husbands constantly, when men aren't subjected to this line of questioning. As wonderful as marriage can truly be, there's still something sinister about it. 
It can often feel like it's something that's *expected* of you when you're a woman. Luckily society in the first world is continuing to evolve, but we still need to look back at our history to know how far we've come. 
Edna is womankind's awakening. She is women realizing that they matter and can live for themselves. 
But she's not perfect for her choices. She's a lesson for where we come from and how far we've come.

In the summer of her 28th year, Edna Pontellier and her children, along with the wives and families of other prospective businessmen, spend the summer in an idyllic coastal community away from their husbands and the sweltering heat of 1890s' New Orleans. Aware of deep yearnings that are unfulfilled by marriage and motherhood, Edna plunges into an illicit liaison that reawakens her long dormant desires, inflames her heart, and eventually blinds her to all else.

Faith Collins

One of my favorite books in the world. I read for my Senior year Lit class. Gives an amazing view of Victorian Era life.

Laura

I didn’t like this book, mostly because of Edna. I felt as if she was just a bored housewife who always wanted what she couldn’t have. Even her feelings towards her children felt disingenuous, and obligatory. So many of the issues in this book could have been solved she and her husband sat down and had a conversation, like civilized people, where they acknowledged how unhappy they were and either made an effort to fix the marriage or just let it become a marriage in name only, something was common in the late 1800s, early 1900s. The ending was also horribly selfish. The book was well written, I’ll give Chopin that, but overall, it wasn't my favorite.

Read more like this review on my blog, http://www.bookwormbasics.blogspot.com

The Awakening

Reviews

Highlights